CLS Communication is a language translation, editing and writing services company based in Switzerland.[2] It has 19 offices on three continents, and provides writing, editing and translating services to customers in the financial services, life sciences, telecommunications and legal industries.[3][4]

The company employs approximately 250 in-house translators and writers and has a network of 2,400 external partners. According to its website, as of 2011 CLS Communication has more than 900 clients.[5]

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CLS Communication was created in 1997 as a spin-off from Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS) and Zurich Financial Services. In 2002, the company in-sourced the translation teams of Swisscom and Sunrise, Switzerland’s two leading telecommunications companies, and the translation unit of the Raiffeisen banking group in Switzerland. Also in 2002, CLS set up offices in London and New York. The acquisition of London-based Richard Gray Financial Translations (RGFT) in 2004 added an office in the UK and the additional offices of RGFT in Paris and Madrid.[6]

In 2003, CLS became fully independent through a management buyout. In 2009 the company gained a new majority shareholder, the Swiss-based private equity fund Zurmont Madison, through a capital increase and a partial buyout of existing shareholders.[7] CLS followed this move with acquisition of Lexi-tech International, the largest translation firm in Canada (formerly owned by J.D. Irving), and Scandinavian Translators in Denmark.

According to the report “The Language Services Market: 2012” by Nataly Kelly, Donald A. DePalma and Robert G. Stewart, published by Common Sense Advisory, CLS Communication is the 11th largest global language service provider.[8]

CLS Communication’s core business is writing, editing and translating. The company also has a terminology department that helps clients set up their own corporate dictionaries and organise their linguistic assets. CLS also offers a machine translation tool.[9]